Three years ago today
by SilverSockFox
Summary: Nichol has found the new life of living under the pig kings rule to be boring, and dull. But he's reminded of what life once used to be by a mysterious boy, who's name he can't seem to remember...


Three years ago today.

**(A/N)~Based off my own head-cannon, so some events may seem weird to you, but I refuse to call this **_**AU**_** or call the characters as acting **_** OOC,**_** 'cause it's MY head-cannon, and this is how this go down there. explanation at the end.**

**Now on with it!~**

He never thought that in three years, something so familiar could change so much. Something that felt like home replaced with pavement and fancy houses. Even the people had changed, no longer were they diverse and kind people. All their interests blended into one. They had all seen too much in these last three years.

Nichol had always wanted to run his father's shop when he was young, but now that it was a reality, it felt more like a burden. It was just SO boring! People complained when he was going too slowly, and people complained when he went too fast. _'All people do is complain nowadays, they have no patience at all'._ He thought the only thing the dull job gave him was an excuse tokeep away from the public and most importantly, away from his sister Ritchie . _"Girls' are supposed to be nice, but she'd rather be a bully than a kind sister..."_Nichol never called her a bully to her face, he was too scared, but his older sister was the kind of person to punch first, instead of talk. Currently, the hag was standing, outside the shop waiting for him. No doubt that was the reason no one was coming in.

He was in the back of the shop when he heard the bell ring, signalling someone had gotten past Ritchie and entered the store. Like anyone, they would probably browse around the store until buying something. Pulling out the box of new wares, Nichol found the 'mandatory notes' he had "lost" yesterday. He knew he was pushing it; Patrol had already come around and warned him about it. The notes contained stories about people who had been caught by the soldiers and were in jail for their crimes. That, or stories that completely glorified the whole messed up situation this place was in. Unfortunately he was required to put them all over the store.

Nichol was starting to post the notes, when he was nudged in the knees by someone. Looking down, he saw it wasn't a person, but a dog. A dog with a shopping list in its mouth, sure, why not, let's see what he needs. Reaching down for the list, Nichol noticed that this dog happened to be none other than Boney, Mr. Lock's dog, and was rumoured to be the smartest inhabitant of the town. This fact was pretty believable, seeing as all everyone did nowadays was watch TV. Reading the list, it mostly contained camping food, and other things that wouldn't perish easily.

"Do you want some help shopping, doggy?"Nichol asked.

The dog was clearly unimpressed with this manner of speech, even the bark of approval sounded slightly sarcastic. As Nichol walked around the store, he noticed someone else outside, talking to Ritchie. She seemed to be flirting with the person, which told him there was a boy outside. Getting a better look at the boy, Nichol noticed some strangely familiar features. Standing at the same height as Rosemary, about 5'5, with short, blond hair, the boy wasn't really a boy, Nichol him to be guessed somewhere around 14 to 17. Not quite a man, but not a boy anymore. Only when Boney pushed him forward, did he realize he'd been staring.

Nichol had gotten almost every item, when the boy walked inside. Looking outside, he noticed Rosemary had left.

"She's, finally gone, I'm amazed you could stand to talk with her that long "Nichol said, without saying it directly at him. The boy shrugged, ending the conversation. Instead, he pulled off the lid of the basket he was carrying. Looking inside, Nichol saw 12 young chicks, chirping at him happily. That's when Nichol recognized the boy. He came by every week selling produce from Mr. Lock's farm. Nichol had thought the farm was run by the army now, or at least destroyed and replaced with buildings, but this boy would come by every now and then and sell everything from carrots to chickens. Yet he couldn't remember his name. He was lost in thought when a voice cut through his thoughts.

"Four hundred and twenty DP"

Nichol snapped away from his daydreaming, "sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

As Nichol fussed around, looking for where the money was kept, the boy gave a slight smile.

"It's too early huh? I didn't think anyone would be running the store at 7:00, guess I was wrong huh?"

"I suppose so..." Nichol wasn't sure what to say. The boy walked around the store as Nichol looked for where the previous worker had put the money the night before. The boy looked at odd things, from an old box of shoes, a rusted tent pole, a lumpy sleeping bag that no one ever wanted, to a bottle of ketchup. Nichol found it slightly amusing to try to guess what he was doing with these things. He shifted his hand around and under the cash register before finding the money behind the counter's main drawer. He rolled his eyes; Angie and Fuel always worried about robberies, and hid the DP in difficult places, like in the ceiling tiles without telling anyone. Nichol counted the correct amount before handing it out to the boy.

The boy took the money from his hands, and then took out the basket with the items in it. Nichol looked inside; all of the items were found on the list the dog had given him, and nothing else. He added the amount up.

"You owe seven hundred and twenty DP, unless you're a factory worker, then it's only two hundred."Nichol said. The boy placed the money in his hand, before pulling of three hundred more. Nichol slowly traded him the goods for the money. The boy was leaving, but he still had more questions to ask him.

"H-how old are you now?" Nichol blurted out, in a voice too loudly for the small space. The boy looked at him again with that tiny smile on his lips.

"One year and seven months older than you." This boy obviously knew him well, not a lot of people knew his birth date, even his close friends._ 'One year and seven months...'_ That would make him just fifteen. Who did he know that was fifteen? There had been someone, whose birthday would have been recently, but he was long dead, killed in a freak accident three years ago.

"Are you going somewhere, like on a camping trip with friends?"Now Nichol was really flinging random questions out, but the boy listened anyway. His smile grew as he answered.

"I'm going to the city." Just like that. Short and sweet, as if it explained everything. It didn't.

"You're going to the city by yourself? Why? How can you go without taking a train?"Nichol stopped for a breath, then came to a conclusion,

"Y-you're not planning on _walking all the way to the city,_ are you? Nichol lowered his voice to a whisper, before continuing, "It's dangerous AND illegal."The boy leaned forward and replied in a similar tone as he.

"Yeah, I'm going to the city, and I'm not going alone. I'm taking Boney with me "The said dog barked in approval."As for why I'm going..." He looked around before continuing to see if anyone was in the store, which was pointless, because no one ever came in before 9:30. But the boy wouldn't know that would he? When he finally replied, it was in a voice so quiet, that Nichol had to lean all the way over the counter to hear him.

"I'm going to see if _that rumour,_ is true."The Rumour. The rumour that all the workers talked about. No one believed it, and the people who did were just crazy- the rumour was too farfetched to be true. Despite himself, Nichol gave a loud, accusing laugh.

"What do you think you're going to find there? It's just a stupid rumour for god's sake!"

The boy's reaction was sharp, and automatic. He pulled away and his face returned to that mask that hid away his true feelings. Nichol Suddenly felt horrible for speaking to him like that. So he tried to make it up to him.

"The Band plays at the club atop of the ropeway station. But you need to be a factory worker to get in. Nichol looked at the boy, as he gave a sharp nod of approval and turned to leave to store. But Nichol still had one more question that made him stop in his tracks.

"But, how do you even know it's true?"

The boy turned around and looked at him.

'Sometimes you just have to take a chance."

And with that he took his dog and left the store. Nichol realized he never did learn his name. Things hadn't been so complicated three years ago, today.

A/N) **yeah yeah, 'Lucas isn't that old' or 'he's all emo for three years' all you want, but in my head that's how he is, (** in the game if you really look**) he stops being really outwardly depressed after the three days of crying, and saving Salsa. Also, I don't really think that Lucas spent his days locked up inside, I mean, the towns people seem like they know you, but have forgotten exactly **_** who**_** you are...**

**Kinda like Canada. Get it?**

**like this story? please review and then go check out my other stuff!**

Valentine's day part two is coming soon...Once I get better, I'll upload it!

_And when I think about it, I think of all the chances I never took...and how they're too far away to catch now._


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